Bottle buffing machine



Sept. 2, 1941.

A. J. wEl'ss BOTTLE BUFFING MACHINE! Filed Feb. 6, 1959 J7. .T. mss,

5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTO z I Sept. 2, 1941.

A. J. WEISS BOTTLE BUFFING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 6, 1939mu m ma. m 2 u :8 H n T uuunu nv nnunh I INVENTOR JIIWZ/a/ss Z 2 5 EATTORNEY A. J. WEISS BOTTLE BUFFING MACHINE Sept. 2, 1941 Filed Feb. 6,1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 m Wai INVENTOR ITORNEY 1941. A. J. WEISS BOTTLEBUFFING MACHINE Sept. 2

Filed Feb. 6, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 D HH I II INVEN P Sept. 2, 1941. A.J. WEISS BOTTLE BUFFING MACHINE Filed Feb. 6, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 nmwouu 2H 5 mi INVENTOR .11. J r e/6&9.

Tl A TORNEY Patented Sept. 2, 1941 BOTTLE BUFFING MACHINE August J.Weiss, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Maryland Glass Corporation,Baltimore, Md, a

corporation of Maryland Application February 6, 1939, Serial No. 254,932

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in but?- ing or polishingmachines, and it is particularly concerned with the polishing of bottlesin the glass factory prior to packaging and shipping.

The bottles particularly in mind are quite small The surface is notrough to the touch, but there are minute unevennesses which mar theappearance of the bottle and which can readily be eliminated by thesimple bufling or polishing operation which the instant machineperforms.

In many instances the latter operation is done by a workman who isrequired to press the bottle board or rack up against the butting wheeluntil the required polish has been achieved. To do this from morning toevening puts the workman under 7 a severe abdominal muscular strainwhich eventually culminates in some type of occupational disease. Themachine is contrived to do the heavy work, leaving the workman to thelighter task of filling and changing bottle racks and i supplying thebufiing material.

The conventional mode of polishing comprises the holding of thebottlerack against the buffing wheel and imparting a reciprocation tosaid rack along straight up and down lines, that is to say, linesparallel to a plane standing at right angle to the axis of the buffingwheel. This has the result of applying the buffing pressure inrectilinear strokes which impair the bufiing operation, especially ifthe buffing wheel consists of layers of felt, because then the slighttendency of the felts to separate produces medial zones which arelacking in a full polishing effect. With this preamble in mind theobjects of the invention are as follow:

First, to provide a machine for bufiing' or polishing glassware, morespecifically small perfume andsimilar bottles, to give them a smooth,satin finish that will greatly improve their appearance and make themmuch more acceptable than if marketed in their comparatively roughstate.

Second, to provide a bottle buffing machine which in its operation isadapted to eliminate the heavy abdominal muscular strains to which aworkman is commonly subjected in carrying out the bufiing operation byhand.

Third, to provide a bottle buffing machine wherein the carrier comprisesa complete and self-contained unit, having included therein everyelement necessary to the reciprocation of the bottle rack, said carrier,therefore, being independent of the frame excepting for support.

Fourth, to provide a bottle bufii-ng machine wherein the buffingoperation has a bias reciprocation as the ultimate and essential motionof the bottle rack, thereby shifting the bottles along short diagonalstrokes across the faces of the felts, thus lessening the possibility ofspreading the felts and virtually eliminating poor polishing by theoccurrence of voids between the felts.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan View of the bottle buffing machine.

Figure 2- is a perspective view of the bottle board or rack showing anumber of bottles in place.

Figure 3' is a fractionalperspective View of the carrier.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the machine.

Figure 5' is a detail side elevation particularly illustrating the cableattachments to the carrier.

Figure 6 is a detail side elevation of one of the cable attachments.

Figure 7 is a cross section taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 5.

Figure 8 is a cross section taken on the line 88.of Fig. 5.

Figure 9 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 9-'9- of Fig. 1.

Figure 10 is a detail cross section taken on the line Iii-Ill of Fig. 1.

Figure 11 is a partial front elevation of the machine.

Figure 12 is a cross section taken on the line l-2-I2 of Fig.- 1.

Figure 13 is a front elevation of the cam plate.

Figure 14 is a plan view of the cam board.

Figure 15 is a cross section taken on the line 15-45 of Fig. 1.

Figure 16 is a plan view of the rack plate, the bottle rack being shownin place.

Figure 1'7 is a detail section taken on the-line 11-11 of Fig. 1.

Figure 18 is a cross section taken on the line l8l8 of Fig. 1.

Figure 19 isa cross section taken onthe line 19-49 of Fig. l.

In carrying out the invention provision is made of a frame generallydesignated I. This frame may comprise any suitable type of support forthe carrier, but the most convenient form of a support is that of thetable shown. To this end the frame consists of legs 2, cross braced at 3and carrying a top 4 to which virtually all of the mechanism is eitherdirectly attached or from which it is suspended.

The table top 4 is cut out at 5 to make room; for a box 6. The mainpurpose of this box is to catch the surplus buffing compound. Its sideshave upward extensions 1 (Fig. 9) which meet the top edge of theenlarged front 8 which, because of said enlargement, constitutes anapron to shield the workman to some extent. The box 6 is secured to thetable top 4 in any desired way, for example by means of bent straps 9.The ends of these straps are secured beneath the top and the box isrested therein as shown (Fig. 12).

A trough I!) has a lip ll overhanging the back of the box 5 (Fig. 9).This trough is supported in any convenient way beneath the bufiing wheelgenerally designated l2. The frame I carries metal bars [3 (Fig. 12).These are secured to the top 4 a slight distance beyond the side marginsof the cut-out 5. Each of the bars has a pair of rigidly upstandingstandards l4, l5. These standards carry pairs of rails I6, i! (Fig. 12).

The bottom rail [1 constitutes a track in each instance. The top railsI6 comprise guard rails. The guard rails and tracks are secured to thestandards l4, I5 by bolts l8. These bolts are screwed into the rails atI!) (Fig. 19) after passing through spacers 28 which hold the rails offfrom the standards the desired distance. In the instance of the toprails the bolts I8 also pass through shields 2| which are thus securedin place. I v i l It will be understood from Fig. 19 that the] track I!and guard rail [6 are stationary. This is true of both sets of tracksand guard rails. The shields 2| are chiefly for the purpose ofpreventing the workman from getting his hands caught in certain movingparts. Before describing these parts it is desired to carry out thedescription of the previously mentioned buffing wheel [2.

This wheel, shown in Fig. 18, consists of a large number of felt disks22. Felt happens to be the material used in the instant installation I'these threads against a follower washer 36 which thus clamps the disksin tight assemblage. The contiguous portion of the mandrel 26 isthreaded at 3|, then terminating in an end 32 which is revoluble in abearing 33. A nut 34 is screwed onto the threads 3| into tightengagement with the end of the sleeve 23. The latter is thus held firmlyon the mandrel.

The other end 35 of the mandrel 26, that is to say the end opposite to32, is supported by a bearin 36 (Fig. 1). Said end carries a triplepulley 3'! which is belted at 38 to a triple drive pulley 39 on theshaft of a motor 48. This motor is desirably mounted on the floor (Fig.4) inasmuch as it is fairly heavy and moreover would require more roomthan the table top 4 can reasonably be made to afford.

Further appurtenances of the frame I comprise brackets 4|, 42. Theforward pair 4| is upstanding from the table top 4 (Fig. 4). Therearward pair 42 juts out horizontally, being attached in any convenientway. The respective pairs of brackets carry grooved pulleys 43, 44 whichfurnish guides for pairs of cables 45, 46. The lower ends of the frontcables are secured to eye bolts 41 (Fig. 11) at the ends of an equalizerbar 48. The lower ends of the rear cables 46 are similarly secured toeye bolts 49 (Figs. 4 and 9) at the ends of an equalizer bar 50.

The equalizer bar 48 has a central connection 5| to a treadle 52 (Fig.11). The free end 53 actually comprises the treadle because this isintended to be stepped upon by the workman when the carrier is to bedrawn back. The treadle is pivoted at 54 to one of the legs 2 of theframe.

The equalizer bar 50 has a shank 55 suspended from it. This shanksupports a weight 56. The weight may have a removable section 51, andthe shank 55 can be made long enough to permit the addition of stillanother weight.

Although in most instances the weight 58 will be of a fixed size, yetinstances can occur where it is desired to press the bottles up againstthe bufling wheels 12 with more or less pressure than is afforded by thefixed weight 56. Such occasions can be met by adding or subtractingsections to the shank 55.

This leads the description to the essential part of the invention whichcomprises the carrier generally designated 58 (Fig. 9) This carriercomprises a self-contained unit, and it has included in it every elementnecessary to reciprocate the bottles in the peculiar manner hereinproposed. The carrier has a heavy foundation plate 59. The ends 69 ofthis plate (one being shown in Fig. 3) are notched at 6|. The notchedends 68 are set upon and suitably affixed to the pitched seats 62 of apair of side bars 63 (Fig. 12). The pitch of the seats 62 (Fig. 3) is ofsuch a degree as to insure the positioning of the bottle rack (Fig. 2)perpendicularly to the selected radius 64 (Fig. 9) of the buffing wheell2.

The reason for setting the foundation plate 59 at the pitch shOWn is togive the bottle rack (Fig. 2) a backward slant matching the position ofthe line 65 (Fig. 9). The bottles are all thus held in place by gravity,and since the buffing wheel rotates in the direction of arrow a, none ofthe bottles will ever fall out.

The connection of the plate 59 to the side bars 63 is rigid. The settingof the plate at the pitch described produces projections 66, one ofwhich is adapted to be engaged by the hook end .61 of a hold-back handle68. This handle is pivoted upon a bolt 69 (Fig. 10) which is securedbetween an upstanding bracket 18 on the. table top 4 and the. nearestupward extension of the box 6. l

The side bars 63 carry wheels H (Fig. 1) Each .of the side bars carriesa pair of the wheels (Fig.

side bar andits pair of wheelsx The guard plates are made quite long(Fig. 1), thus to catch most of; anysplashing from the box 6, and alsoto I protect the wheels and rails. Since" the construction ofeach of thefour wheels is alike and its relationship to the rails is the same,attention isdirected to Fig. 19 for the details, the numerals thereshown applying to matching parts in all of the views.

In Fig. 19' the side bar 63 is shown to have a heavy spindle 13 securelyattached to it by the nut 14. Equivalent securing means can be used. Thespindle l3 terminates in a race 75 for the ball bearings T5 which areinserted in a cavity and matching race H- in the wheel H. A nut orequivalent means 18 is screwed onto the spindle to maintain the wheeland spindle assemblage, a cover plate 19 finally being emplaced toprotect the ball bearings from dust. I

As well shown in Fig. 19, the wheel H is grooved. The V-groove is notnecessarily adbored to, but has been found to adequately serve thepurpose. Inasmuch as the wheel i i runs on the rail I! the latteractually comprises one of the pair of track rails (Fig. 12). No weightis imposed upon the rails l6, consequently these merely act as guards asalready brought out. They prevent the carrier from jumping the track.

The near ends of the previously mentioned cables 15, 46 are attached tothe guard plates 12 of the carrier, as shown in Fig. 5. Each attachmentis of the same construction as in the instance of one of the cables 45.The end 86 of this cable (Fig. 6) is bent to fit the matching grooves81, 32 in companion members 83, 84 (Fig. 8). These members are securedtogether and to the guard plate 12 by a bolt and nut 85.

The securement of the weight 56 to one end of the carrier 53 tends tomove the latter in the direction of arrow b (Fig. 9). The movement isalong the track ll when not prevented by the hold-back handle 68.

The previously mentioned bottle rack (Fig. 2) consists of a board 86which has knobs 81 to provide for its being lifted out of the machine.

In practice a number of the boards are provided. The board 88 has aledge 88 upon which the bottles 89 are stood, as shown. The ledge iscontinued at its ends to comprise upright side members 9B which limitthe number of bottles to be inserted, and also prevent the end ones fromslipping off sidewise. The bottles project slightly beyond the face ofthe ledge 88. The edge of the board 86 is chamfered at 91 adjacently tothe necks of the bottles. This chamfer provides a throat in a sense,facilitating the introduction of powdered pumice stone or an equivalentbuffing compound. The bottle board 86'has a metal reinforcement 82 (Fig.2).

A rack plate 93 (Fig. 16) provides for the support of the bottle rack86. The plate 93 has upright end cleats 9:1 to which guide strips 95 areattached. These strips overhang the cleats in such a way as to provideend passages 96 into which the ends of the board 86 are slid. The rackplate 93 has a plurality of lugs 91 along its lower edge on which thebottle rack 86 is rested. A shield 98 extends from the rack plate 93 tothe foundation plate 59 (Figs. 9 and 17), to prevent spattering themechanism behind the rack plate with bufiing material.

Heads 99 rigidly secured to the rack plate 93 (Figs. 16 and 17) havepairs of matching passages lflll for a pair of slide rods NH. The endsof these slide rods are fixedly secured in brackets 102 on back of apair of heads I03 (Fig. 14), of a cam plate 14. This plate is adapted tobe reciprocated because of the cam action imparted to it by an eccentricH25. The plate IM has a frame [96 (Figs. 13 and 14) in which theeccentric revolves (Fig. 17).

Revolving the eccentric I05 causes the cam plate Hi l to reciprocatevertically. To this end heads 33 have vertical passages I01 (Fig. 14)for the occupancy of spindles I68 rigidly aflixed to and upstanding fromthe foundation plate 59 (Fig. 15). The passages I61 are capped at I09(Fig. 15) to prevent dust from coating the moving surfaces.

Also rigidly secured to the foundation plate 59 is a roller standard H0(Fig. 15). This standard. has a journal ll l aiiixed to it (Fig. 17).roller I I2 is turnable on this journal. The roller occupies a positionbetween a pair of guide rails H3 (Fig. 15) These rails are'set at a 16degree angle on a mount H-3a which bridges the heads 99, although thissetting is subject to variation in various bufiing machines if it befound desirable to produce a more or less pronounced bias reciprocationof the rack plate 93.

From this statement it will be understood that the rack plate 93 issubject to a bias motion as it is reciprocated in the up and downdirections. In other words, the motion is on a diagonal in respect tothe face of the buffing wheel !2. The source of the power which producesthe motion is a motor H l' (Fig. 12). This motor is supported by abracket H5 which is attached to one of the side bars 63. The motor shaftH6 carries a drive sprocket H! which drives the sprocket 8- of a speedreducer H ll by means of a chain I29. The low speed shaft ill of thisreducer has the previously mentioned eccentric I 05 afiixed to it (Fig.1'7). The speed reducer is mounted upon a plate I22 which is affixed tothe foundation plate 59 and extends forwardly therefrom, as shown.

The operation is readily understood. The carrier 58 (Fig. 9) is theimportant moving part of the machine. It travels horizontally in respectto the frame I, but inasmuch as the rack plate 93, cam plate I84 anddirectly associated parts are set at a pitch (Fig. 9) it follows thatthe bottles 89 are stood at an angle as presented to the surface of thebuffing. wheel. 12.

The tendency of the weight 56 is to pull the entire carrier in thedirection of arrow b (Fig. 9). The wheels H of the latter run on thetrack I! (Fig. 12). As long as the hook end 61 remains in engagementwith the projection 66 (Fig. 9) said motion is prevented.

The operator first sees to it that the bottle rack 86 (Fig. 2) is filledwith bottles. He emplaces the rack upon the rack plate 93. The next actis to step on the treadle 5 3 (Fig. 11). This pulls the carrier 53toward the operator sufiiciently far to enable the release of theprojection 68 from the hook end 6'! when the handle 63 is pressed down.

The operator now lets up on the treadle 53, and in doing so permits theweight 56 to engage the bottles with the buffing wheel. As the eccentricl revolves in the frame I06, a true up and down motion is imparted tothe cam plate IM. This motion is compelled by the guidance of theupright spindles Hi8.

The cam plate HM carries the rack plate 93 with it. This is due to theconnection which the sliding engagement of the rods IUI with the heads99 affords. But instead of the rack plate 93 partaking of the true upand down motion of the cam plate Hi4, it is compelled to move on a biasbecause of the engagement of the angled guide rails H3 with therelatively fixed roller H2. The necessary sliding occurs on the rodsIfll, and the bottles are moved on a bias across several of the felts22, insuring a thorough polishing operation and preventing anypossibility of wearing tracks in the surface of the glass as might occurwhen the felts remain in unvarying relationship to the positions of thebottles.

I claim:

1. A buffing machine comprising a frame, revoluble bufling means on theframe with which an article is to be contacted, rails fixed on theframe, being inclined toward the buffing means, a wheeled carriertraveling rectilinearly upon the rails toward said bufiing means andhaving the following elements mounted thereon for travel therewith as aunit, a plate upon which a series of the articles is emplaced forcontact with said buffing means, said plate being perpendicular to thecarrier and thus standing at a backward pitch, means embodied in thecarrier for imparting a biased reciprocatory motion to said plate so asto strike the articles diagonally across the bufiing means, and a sourceof motive power for said motion imparting-means also on the carrier; anda weight guided on the frame and having a connection to the carrier forconstantly tending to hold the carrier and the parts mounted thereon asa unit toward the bufiing means and thus press the articles against thelatter.

2. A bufling machine comprising revoluble buffing means with which anarticle is to be contacted, a pair of plates upon one of which a seriesof the articles is emplaced in contacting relationship to the buffingmeans, rotary motion means to actuate the second plate of said pair,guide means for the second plate confining its motion to a planerectilinear with the plane of revolution of the bufiing means, a slidecoupling between the plates of said pair, a roller fixed relatively tosaid plates, and guide means on said one plate, engaging opposite sidesof the roller and being set on a bias to said planes to bias the motionof said one plate.

3. A bufiing machine comprising buffing means T 1 with which an articleis to be contacted, a pair of plates by one of which a series of thearticles is carried in contact with the bufiing means, separate meansfor the respective plates on which said plates are respectively slidablecrosswise and vertically of the buffing means, guide means for said oneplate and a relatively fixed element with which said guide means coacts,converting the composite vertical and crosswise sliding thereof into abiased motion to strike the articles diagonally across the bufiingmeans, and means to impart motion to the second plate of said pair.

4. In a bufling machine, a pair of plates, sep' arate sliding supportsfor each of the plates, coupling means between said plates of which oneof said supports is a part, the respective axes of sliding being atright angles to each other, a motor-driven speed reducer having aneccentric, a frame on one of the plates in which the eccentric isoperable to reciprocate the respective plate, angle guide means on theother plate, and means stationary in respect to said plates, engagingthe guide means to bias the motions of the respective plate as producedby the reciprocated plate.

5. In a buffing machine, manipulation means for supporting andreciprocating an article to be buifed, carrier means for saidmanipulating means including a foundation plate, wheeled side barshaving pitched seats on which the foundation plate is emplaced todispose said manipulating means on a slant, said seats definingprojections because of their pitch, means to pull the carrier means inone direction, and detent means engageable with at least one of theprojections to detain the carrier means.

6. In a bufling machine, the combination of a pair of plates, means onone of the plates to retain an article rack, means on the second plateof said pair in which an eccentric is operable, heads on each of theplates, the respective heads having passages at angles to each other,slide rods carried by the heads of the second plate occupying thepassages in the heads of the first plate, relatively fixed erectspindles occupying the passages in the heads of said second plate, anelement which is fixed relatively to both plates, and diagonal guidemeans carried by the heads of said one plate, coacting with said fixedelement to produce a bias movement of said one plate in response to avertical movement of the second plate.

'7. In a buffing machine, a bottle rack comprising a board having aledge constituting an article support, side members in extension of saidledge to retain the articles, and a chamfer on an edge of the boardbeing directed toward the ledge to guide the introduction of a polishingagent.

8. In a bufiing machine, a rack plate having lugs for the support of arack, means at the ends of the plate for slidably retaining an articleboard, heads afiixed to the rack, a mount bridging the heads, and a pairof guide rails attached to the mount being located on a pitch in respectto said mount.

AUGUST J. WEISS.

